PRWeek's most-read content of 2018

Denny’s ‘accidentally’ sends out Super Slam press release draftJune 5In the early days of June, reporters at about a dozen outlets were scratching their heads after they opened what appeared to be the working draft of a press release from Denny’s sent out by mistake. The "mistake" release, promoting the chain’s $5.99 Super Slam, was a yummy one for Denny’s, helping it break through to the press about the "crazy" deal value.

Sources: Baylor used ‘mole’ to aid comms during sex assault crisisAugust 22This report found that Baylor University infiltrated sexual assault survivor groups to shape its PR strategy and talking points on how to handle the groups and student demonstrations. Both the university’s communications department and its retained PR firm at the time, Ketchum, denied any wrongdoing in documents released as part of a federal gender anti-discrimination lawsuit.

PRWeek U.S. Awards 2018: The winnersMarch 16Here’s the highlight reel: #MeToo pioneer Tamara Burke was honored as Communciator of the Year; Catherine Hernandez-Blades of Aflac and Kathy Bloomgarden of Ruder Finn won top Professional plaudits; Weber Shandwick won Agency of the Year (again); and Frito-Lay North America and Ketchum won Campaign of the Year for Tostitos Party Safe Bag.

PRWeek U.S. Power List 2018July 2There was a new name at the top of PRWeek’s Power List in 2018: Donna Imperato, CEO of the newly created Burson Cohn & Wolfe. Imperato also led Cohn & Wolfe through three consecutive years of double-digit growth starting in 2014.

What it’s like to be black in PRFebruary 2In this mini-documentary posted at the beginning of Black History Month, PRWeek asked black PR professionals what it’s like being a person of color in the business. Like entertainment, technology, and many other industries, the communications sector has a diversity problem, with too few people of color and far too few diverse individuals in high-ranking positions.

WPP merges Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & WolfeFebruary 27And just like that, the legendary agency name of Burson-Marsteller was no more, as WPP combined the two agencies into Burson Cohn & Wolfe with Donna Imperato in the lead role and more than 4,000 staffers in 42 countries.

Edelman reimburses 66 women VPs paid less than menAugust 27In a deal with the Labor Department, the firm agreed to pay more than $4,000 to each woman for discrepancies related to the period from 2012 to 2013. In all, the agency sent checks to 66 current and former employees from its New York office. The Labor Department audit was "neutrally scheduled" and not prompted by a complaint.